Making reinforced slivers



Nov. 19, 19.46. J McMlLLlN ETAL 2,411,326

MAKING REINFORCED SLIVERS Filed Nov. 27, .1942

gvwcm bow JRMMilZin w @Hllake, ja a 1 W Patented Nov. 19,1946

MAKING REINFORCED SLIVERS James R. McMillin and Stanley H. Lake, Newark,Ohio, assignors to Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation, ,Toledo, Ohio,a, corporation of Delaware Application November 27, 1942, Serial No.467,278

, 7 Claims. 1 l v This invention relates to a fibrous product and to animproved me'thodland apparatus for manufacturing such a product.

In the manufacture of certain types of fibrous products such, forexample, as glass or other thermoplastic materialsit has been customaryto collect attenuatdi glass fibers onthe periphery of a drum and topullthe'depo'sited fibers off the drum to form a sliver of glass fibers.This method is disclosed and claiiridYin theTucker and lllaiilnan PatentNo. 2,264,345, dated December 2,

Although slivers of the character disclosed in the above patenthave'.proved very satisfactory in practice, nevertheless, iii themanufacture of certain products, it is desirablettcincrease the tensilestrength of the sliver. With this in view the present inventioncontemplates reinforcing the sliver with a continuous strand which maybe a single filament or may be a yarn of desired material, preferablyglass. 1

Heretofore reinforced asbestos slivers have been produced by feeding areinforcing thread and an asbestos sliver together between the usualrubbing aprons or belts for condensing the sliver, and folding thesliver around thethread by the action of the belts. This process is notsatisfactory in the treatment of glass fibers, however, because the useof rubbing aprons would represent an added, otherwise unnecessary stepin the production of the slivers.

It is an object of the present invention to produce a reinforced glasssliver without increasing the number of steps or operations over thoseneeded to produce an ordinary glass sliver.

More particularly this invention contemplates distributing glass fibersin tangled relation about a continuous strand of material as the fibersare produced, the strand being advanced along a predetermined path oftravel coinciding with the movement of the sliver asit is formed, and,if desired, applying an adhesive to the strand prior to distributing thefibers about the strand so that Figure 1 is a diagrammaticsideelevational view partly in section of apparatus constructed inaccordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 2-2 ofFigure l; and t Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of the sliver of thisinvention showing the reinforcing core or The foregoing, as well asother objects, will strand. 7

Although this invention concerns itself more particularly with themanufacture of slivers formed of glass, nevertheless, other materialshaving similar characteristics may be employed. Several examples ofmaterials which may be used in connection with the present invention,are artificial silk commonly known as nylon, vinyl acetate, celluloseacetate, resin, sugar, and vinylidene chloride resin.

With the above in view reference is now made to the drawing wherein itwill be noted that the reference character 10 indicates a container ormelter adapted to contain a supply ll of molten thermoplastic materialsuch'as glass. A bushing I2 is suitably supported at the bottom of thecontainer in communication with the supply ll of molten glass andcomprises a pluraltiy of nipples or relatively small orifices l3.

The orifices l3 are designed to enable a glass stream to be drawnthrough each orifice by a blower l4 supported below the bushing l2 andhaving the further function of forming attenuated fibers from the glassstreams. In detail, the blower 14 comprises complementary sections l5and I6 respectively positioned at opposite sides of the glass streamsissuing from the bushing l2. Thesection I6 is provided with a chamber 11communicating with a source of fluid under pressure,;such as-a steam orair, by means of a conduit 18 and also communicating at one end with theadjacent end of a chamber I9 formed in the section 15. It will also benoted from Fi ure 1 that the sections of the blower 14 are respectivelyformed with discharge orifices arranged to discharge fluid underpressure in a downward direction toward opposite sides of the glassstreams. The pressure of the fluid is sufficient to apply the pullingforce on the glass streams required to draw the same from theirrespective In accordance with conventional practice the pe-' riphery ofthe drum is perforated and sufficient suction is created in the drum bymeans not shown the drum.

to collect the periphery of i The web of fibers collected or disposed-onthe;

- periphery of the drumis pulled off of the, drum by a member 22supported for rotation at the front side of the drum 2| inspacedielat-ion to the latter; As the web of fibers is pulled off of thedrum it is drafted to the form of a sliver 23 and the latter is woundaround the rotatable member 22. The fibers produced by the process justdescribed are usually known as staple glass fibers.

be waXJresln, or any similar adhesive capable of securing the fibers tothe continuous strand as the latter is drawn through the fiberdeposition ""zoneon the drum by the rotatable member 22.

As a result of the above, a sliver of the type shown in Figure 3 of thedrawing is produced having a core in the form of a strand such, forexample, as a length of glass yarn and having -lon g or theoreticallycontinuous glass fibers interlaced about the core so that the latteracts to effectively reinforce the sliver. It will also be Theyare-substantially continuous in length when The present inyentionprovides a sliver of this understood from the foregoing that the glassfibers are distributed about the strand by advancing the latter throughthe zone of fiber deposition on the drumor other fiber collectingsurface and, consequently, the relatively long fibers also extend in thegeneral direction of length of the strand but are intertangled to anextent providing integrity in the body of fibers about the typereinforced with a strand of glass or other fibers. The strandis'incorporated in the sliver in such a way that the original fiufiynature of the sliver is not altered as-it would be if the strand and thesliver were intertwisted or if the sliver was folded about the strand.Retention of the original fiufllness isespecially desirable where thesliver is to be served onto a wire to form a layer of fibrousinsulation.

To obtain maximum strength in the reinforced sliver it has been foundpreferable to employ as the reinforcing core a strand or yarn oicontinuious glass filaments. Glass filaments of the continuous type aremade by continuously attenuating streams of molten glass, gatheringthefibers thus formed into. grglip s -or strandsand winding the strandsupon a drum-or'spooli, The finished strands containa: largenumber-'offilaments that: r

are substantially continuous in'length throughout Y the-neededdielectric r sistance.

the length of the strand The way in which the sliver liisreinforced witha strand of material, preferably glass, and either in-the form of astrand of glass filaments or in the form of a yarn, will now bedescribed in de tail.

is unwound from the spool by'the rotatable" member: 2-2 previouslydescribed as operable to RUH-thjzflbBISOfl the periphery of thecollecting drum-2|. As shown in Figure l, the strand is p ssed upwardlythrough an eye or guide 28 sultably supported above the package and isexcore. This arrangement of the fibers around the strand provides asliver having very high tensile strength and one which will not breakduring subsequent weaving or knittin operations. Also, by depositing thefibers in tangled relation about the reinforcing strand, thefibers-become interlaced about the strand to such an extent that thestrand is separated from the body of fibers only with great difficulty,demonstrating lthe degree of integrity ofthe product of the presentinvention.

For some applications of the reinforced sliver it has been foundadvantageous to employ as a reinforcing core a strandmade up of one ormore filaments of a thermoplastic resinous material suchas Vinylite,polystyrene, Seran, and simitended downwardly around a pad 21 to therotatable member 22. The locations'of the pad 21 and ber 22 and thestrand is felted with the fibers.

In accordance with this invention the fibers are,

secured to the strand by coating the strand with a suitable adhesiveprior to moving the strand with an adhesive material by the pad 21 andthis material is supplied to the pad by a suitable reservoir 28. Theadhesive material employed may across the drum 2 In detail, the strandis coated means for applying radially lar resins. This is particularlyvaluble where the sliver is to be served onto a wire to form a layer ofinsulating material thereover.

The sliver is heat treated after it is served on-the wire to soften thethermoplastic material of the reinforcing core. to an extent causing itto fiow and thoroughly' impregnate the fibrous insulating layer to pro-The thermoplastic core may also be employed where the sliver is to beused forother purposes and wherever it is desired to reinforce thesilver until it has been twisted, woven, knitted, or pros-- essed insome other manner, but where the reinforcing is not required afterprocessing but is advlzimtageously replaced by" impregnation of the sver:

and within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

'1. Apparatus for forming a reinforced sliver comprising a drumsupported for rotation in a position to collect a web of intertangledfibers as his formed, a package comprising a strand of continuous glassfibers supported at one side of thedrum, a rotatable member supported atthe opposite side of the drum for pulling the deposited fibers oi! theperiphery of the drum in the direction of rotation of the drum to form asliver and for also unwinding the package by pulling the strand acrossthe periphery of the drum through the zone of fiber deposition on thedrum whereby said fibers are drawn substantially parallel with saidstrand, means supported adjacent the package in a position to engage thestrand to apply an adhesive, on the strand to cause the fibers to adhereto the strand as the latter is pulled across the periphery of the drum,and inward forces against saidfibersaround said strand.

ious modificatl'ons of the present invention rnay be made withinthespirit of the invention 2. The method which comprises continuouslyfilaments onto a moving supporting surface and forming on theperiphery-of a rotatable member a glass fiber web in which the fibersare haphazardly arranged and interlaced with, each other, advancing el-continuous strand of fglass fibers across thmperi'phery of 7 saidmember I through the fiber deposition zone. on the member causing themto accumulate in matted form on said. surface with. the filamentsextending promiscuously and haphazardly but in directions and inthedirection of its rotation, applying an adhesive'to the strand prior toengaging the web tocaus'e the fibers to adhere thereto, and pulling saidweb and strand together from-the periphery of the rotatable member inthe general direction of movement of the periphery and at a ratesufficiently higher than the rate of movement of the periphery to drawthe fibers of the matinto substantial parallelism with the strand. p 3.The method which comprises winding a continuous strand, causing thestrand to pass across the periphery of a rotatable member in thedirection of its rotation during the winding operation, simultaneouslyforming and depositing a glass fiber web in which the fibers arehaphazardly arranged and interlaced with each other on the periphery ofthe rotatable member about the strand, and pulling said web and strandtogether mainly substantially parallel with sald surface, continuouslypassing a preformed strand along said surface in the direction ofmovement thereof, and continuously drawing the mat of filaments and thestrand from said surface as the mat is formed, at a rate greater thanthe rate of movement of said surface, whereby the mat of filaments isattenuated as it is drawn together with the strand from said surface,and concentrating themat of filaments to compact sliver form about thestrand as it advances beyond said surface.

6. Apparatus for forming a reinforced sliver comprising a drum supportedfor rotation in a position to collect a web of intertangled fibers as itis formed, means for supporting a package comprising a strand ofcontinuous glass fibers at one side of the drum, a rotatable membersupported at the opposite side of the drum for pulling the from theperiphery of the rotatable member at a rate sufficiently higher than therate of movement of the periphery to draw the fibers of the mat intosubstantial parallelism with the strand.

4. The method of forming a reinforced strand or sliver which comprisesprojecting fine glass filaments onto a movingsnpporting surface andcausing them toaccumulate inmatted form on said surface with thefilaments extending promiscuously and haphazardly but in directiofismainly substantially parallel with said surface, continuously passingapreformed strand along said surfacev in the direction of movementthereof, and

continuously drawing the mat of filaments and "the strand from saidsurface as the mat is formed at a rate greater than the rate of movementof said surface, and simultaneousl transforming the mat into the form ofa rein rced strand or sliver inwhich the filaments are arranged mainly'in substantial parallelism' about said strand. 5. The method of forminga reinforced strand or silver which comprises projecting fine glassdeposited fibers off the periphery of the drum in the direction ofrotation of the drum to form a silver and for also unwinding the saidpackage by pulling the strand across the periphery of the drum throughthe zone of fiber deposition on the drum, whereby said fibers are drawnsubstantially parallel with saidstrand, and means for applying radiallyinward forces against said fibers around said strand.

7. The method which comprises winding 9. continuous strand ofthermoplastic. resinous mate- 4 rial, causing the strand to pass acrossthe periphery of a rotatable member in the direction of its rotationduring the winding operation, simulta-- neously forming and depositing aglass fiber web in which the fibers are haphazardly arranged andinterlaced with each other on the periphery of the rotatable memberabout the strand and pulli-ng said web andstrand together from the pe-"'rlphery of the rotatable member at a rate suffi'ciently higherthan therate of movement of the periphery to draw the'fibers of the mat intosubstantlal parallelism with the strand.

JAMES R. McMlILIN. STANLEY n. LAKE.

